Shelf brackets with diagonal braces have been known in the art for many years, for example, those in U.S. Pat. Nos. 476,994 (Ellis), U.S. Pat. No. 498,027 (Recht), and U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,471 (Hollansworth). Further, to cause the diagonal brace to be removable is taught by Recht. The type of brace taught by Recht, however, does not significantly stabilize the bracket against lateral stresses. Further, while the brace of Ellis does tend to stabilize against lateral stresses, it is not removable for handy shipping and is dependent upon crimping of the leg metal over it to hold it in place under stress. With overloading, this crimped bracket is subject to drastic failure by the brace breaking loose from the crimp.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,569 discloses a unique type of shelf bracket assembly that specially interconnects the brace with the bracket legs. By so doing, the novel bracket assembly is collapsible for handy, inexpensive shipping, has excellent stability against lateral stresses, and is not dependent upon nor requires crimping for vertical bracing support. Moreover, the bracket assembly has the further versatility of enabling items to be supported on the outer end of the brace, with the load being transmitted to the bracket leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,864,088 discloses a bracket for wood shelving. The bracket comprises a main body defining a first lower support feature configured to receive a first piece of wood in a vertical orientation. The main body further defines a second lower support feature configured to receive a second piece of wood in a vertical orientation such that a top surface of the first piece of wood and a top surface of the second piece of wood align to form a lower shelf support surface for supporting a lower shelf. The main body further defines a first upper support feature configured to receive a third piece of wood in a vertical orientation. The main body further defines a second upper support feature configured to receive a fourth piece of wood in a vertical orientation such that a top surface of the third piece of wood and a top surface of the fourth piece of wood align to form an upper shelf support surface for supporting an upper shelf.
In some embodiments, the first and second lower support features and first and second upper support features; are each configured to receive a standard-sized piece of wood. In some embodiments, the first lower support feature is configured to receive a 2×6 piece of wood and the second lower support feature is configured to receive a 2×4 piece of wood such that the top surface of the 2×6 piece of wood extends in the same plane as the top surface of the 2×4 piece of wood.
What is needed in the art is a bracket for wall mounted shelves, bars or beams in a variety of configurations. One embodiment should support a heavy weight multi shelf assembly using upper and a lower horizontal wall mounted beams such as 2×4's. The present invention provides a (metal) bracket that is secured to a wall (on a stud) and projects a diagonal strut which holds a 2×4, bar or beam across a pair of such brackets. A top shelf rests atop the 2×4 and a wall mounted 2×4 several inches above the bracket's wall fasteners. A large portion of the weight on the upper shelf is vectored into compression of the bracket into the wall as opposed to a traditional vector that urges the bracket away from the wall. Optional lower shelves, bars or beams are hung from the diagonal strut supported upper shelf and a lower wall mounted 2×4.